Mastic joint installing machine



June 9. 1953 J. w. HELTZEL MASTIC JOINT INSTALLING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 7. 1948 INVENTOR. Ja e 2E BY June 9, 1953 J. w. HELTZEL MASTIC JOINT INSTALLING MACHINE Filed April 7, 1948 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J L a// 36 M45406 33 i .32 I

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June 9,1953 J. w. HELTZEL 2,641,168

MASTIC JOINT INSTALLING MACHINE Filed April 7, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented June 9, 1953 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE MASTIC JOINT INSTALLING MACHINE Joseph William Heltzel, Warren, Ohio, assignor to Donald T. Heltzel, Warren, Ohio Application April 7, 1948, Serial No. 19,527

4 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in mastic joint installing machines.

The successful operation of the device constructed according to the present invention for the first time drastically reduced the cost of in stalling joints because it eliminates the forming of an open groove by the use of a molding strip, which is later removed-leaving an open joint after the concrete hardens. With this device and this novel method, the groove is made and the material applied in the plastic concrete all at the same time. Previously an open groove was made by insertion of a steel strip continuously as the concrete was poured by manual means; before the concrete hardened and while still semi-plastic, the V plate was removed and the concrete was edged and repaired where torn or fractured; at a later time this groove was filled-usually with hot asphalt or hot rubber. This new procedure was never attempted before and is novel.

It is desirable to use mastic material in the formation and sealing of expansion and contraction joints in concrete and other roads in which the joint formed by the so-called dummy joint does not extend entirely through the thickness of the slab but which forms a plane of weakness for controlling the breaking of the concrete below the slab whereby the road which is laid as a monolith is divided along well defined and predetermined lines into a number of slabs separated by the expansion and contraction joints to enable the slabs to expand and contract relatively to one another. This mastic material, however, is'very tacky and heavy and considerable pressure is required in its satisfactory application to joints of this character. No machines of the prior art have been capable of effecting satisfactory installations of the mastic material. It is, therefore, one of the objects of this invention to provide an improved machine of this character in which the necessary pressure is developed to project the mastic material through the mechanism in order to form the proper section of joint material as itemerges from the installing device and into the plastic concrete of the road.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved machine of this type in which the discharge nozzle for the mastic material is so constructed that the flow of the mastic material from the nozzle will be uniform at both the top and bottom of the groove.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved machine of this kind in which means are incorporated for automatically closing a valve in the nozzle when the machine stops to prevent escape of the mastic material and for automatically opening the valve in the nozzle when the machine starts.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved mastic joint installing machine which includes a smoothing plate having curved front, back and side edges for smoothing and compressing the concrete over and adjacent to the joint after its installation to eliminate a line which might show in the concrete.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which like parts are denoted by the same reference characters throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a rear elevational view of a mastic joint installing machine constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the machine shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the lower part of the machine shown in Figure 2, with the cylinder tilted to its filling position;

Figure 4 is a detail view of the nozzle, its valve and the cutter, partly in section and partly broken away;

Figure 5 is a rear elevational view taken from the left end of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a View similar to Figure 4 but showing a modified form of nozzle.

Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view or the trunnion and bearing construction on which the cylinder rocks.

Figure '8 is a detailed View of a conventional clutch means provided for controlling the reverse rotative movement of the sprockets 3E and 32.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it designates a main supporting structure of a standard traction or road building machine, having wheels tilt traveling and supported on the side forms Hit. A pair of spaced apart vertical standards it and it are secured to the rear end of the supporting structure It and are connected by an upper connecting bar it, a lower connecting bar M and an intermediate connecting or it. Braces it are secured to the supporting structure and the standards.

A cylinder ii for containing a mastic is disposed between the standards ii and it and has at its lower end an outturned annular flange iii.

A similar flange is formed on a tube it is secured to the flange I8 by bolts 2|. Trunnions 22 on the flange I9 are supported for pivotal movement in bearings 23 which are secured to the standards II and I2 by bolts 24. A clamp 2%; for holding the cylinder upright between the standards is detachably connected to the standards by clamp latches 26.

A piston 21 for working in the cylinder is carried by the lower end of a screw 28 which is held in upright position by straps 29 and 30 secured to the lower bar I4 and the intermediate bar I5, respectively. In order to move the piston 21 downwardly within the cylinder, the screw 28 is fed downwardly by a large sprocket 3|. A small sprocket 32 is provided for feeding the screw and piston upwardly. The sprockets are mainthreads of the screw 28 The small sprocket 32 has an interiorly threaded hub 32a which embraces the screw 28 and the threads of which mesh with the threads of the screw 28. The

sprockets 3| and 32 may be secured to .the sleeve '33 by welding or the like.

' The sprockets 3| and 32 are driven selectively from'an electric motor 38 through a speed re- 'duction gear 34 and a gearing and clutch arrangeinent 35, as seen in Figure 8, which selectively drives either the sprocket 3| or 32. The toothed wheel I02 on the shaft 36' is in mesh with the chain 36, which is driven by the shaft rotatably ektending from the speed reduction gear 34.

The electric motor 38 drives the speed reduction gear 34 through a V-belt 31. The motor 38 'may be installed on a shelf 39 secured .to the upper connecting bar I3.

The gear andclutch arrangement 35', as illustrat'ed in Figure 8, includes a gear box within which the gears couple the shaft 36- and the shaft I06. Clutch collars It! and I03 are secured on the shaft I06 by a key so that they can move axially in opposite directions. Clutch collars D "and I02 are fixed to the sprockets 3| and' 32 which are coupled by the chains to sprockets 3| and 32. 'A common shifter rod I04 is attached by lateral arms I to the collars ml and I03 so that when one clutch is engaged the other is disengaged. Thus, when the shaft 36 drives the sprocket 3| through the coupled clutch collars I00 and IUI, the sprocket 32 idles and when the sprocket 32 is driven, the sprocket 3| idles. A stop 40 on the screw cooperates with a trip .41 for aut mat ca y arresting the d wnwa movement of the screw and the pist n.

A clamp 42 is adjustably connected to the tube 2.0 a a cutter o sroo 43 i a ri d b t clamp. The cutter can be formed as an integral part of the clamp. The lower edge 44 of the u te is i cl ed upw l n a t a ht. i e in the direction of the movement of the cutter for p m s oov in he la i enera? th mad- Adi e ht ts forwa d the cutte 5 m: vided with a vertically extending slot 55 which slidably receives a pin 46 carried by the upper end of a link 5].

The link 41 is pivotally connected to the triangular shaped bracket 48 which is carried by a smoothing plate 49 adjacent its leading edge. The rear portion of the smoothing plate is resiliently supported by a pair of arms 50 and springs 5| which are secured to the arms 50 and to the smoothing plate ,49. The arms 50, are car:

edges curved upwardly as indicated at 54.

curved as indicated at 55.

.ment of the machine.

vided for holding the arms in'adj usted position.

4 The smoothing plate has its forward and rear The side edges of the smoothing plate are also slightly The smoothing plate is provided with a medially disposed slot 56 which opens through the rear edge of the smoothing plate for accommodating the cutter 43 and the nozzle 5]. The nozzle 51 is provided with an interiorly screw threaded tubular nipple 58 which is received by an exteriorl screw threaded tubular nipple 59 of the tube 20. In the form of the nozzle shown in Figure/i the discharge mouth 60 of the nozzle is disposed at right angles to the tubular nipple and is rectangular in shape as shown on Figure 5.

The discharge mouth of the nozzle when in operation is disposed within the groove 3 donned in the concrete by the cutter 43 and is directed rearwardly with respect to the direction of move- Eorwardly of this discharge mouth and in horizontal alignment therewith the nozzle is provided with a solid extension 6 In the modification of the nozzle shown in Figure 6 the discharge mouth 62 is arcuate extending downwardly and forwardly so that the opening of the mouth extends practically the entire height of the groove ,63 in the plastic concrete 64. This curvature has the advantage ,of insuring that the flow of the mastic material from the nozzle will be uniform at both the top and bottom of the groove 63. In other words,

the passage of the mastic material from the center at the top of the nozzle has an equal distance to travel before its emergence from any point of the mouth of the nozzle. I

A rotary. disc valve 65 is mounted within the tube 20 for controlling the flow ,of the mastic material from-the cylinder |-1 through the tube 20 to the nozzle 51. The valve i5 is automati ally opened by means of a solenoid 6,6 which is supported by band 61 carried by the cyl nder 11. An electric valve control 68 with an operatin lever 69 carried by the standard I2 is provided for the solenoid 56. The solenoid 6,6 is provided with a core in the form of a rod 10, the free end of which is pivotally connected to a leverv II pivotally mounted as at "I2 to a bracket 13 which is carried by the flange I 9.

The upper end of a link 14 is pivoted as at 15 to the end of the lever 1| adjacent its connection with the solenoid rod 10. An arm I8 has one end pivotally connected as at 11 to the lower end of the link 14 and has its opposite end affixed to the valve stem 18 of the rotary disc valve 65. The upper end of the lever II has connected thereto the lower end of a wire 19 the upper end of which is attached to the lower end of a coil spring 80. The upper end of the coil spring is anchored to a suitable fixed part, for instance, the frame of the solenoid B6.

A motor vibrator 8| is mounted on a base 82 which in turn is supported by the structure III. The shaft of the motor BI carries a vibrator weight 83.

-11 21. o era ion of he machine. assumin that the screw 28 is in its uppermost position and the piston 21 is entirely withdrawn from the cylinder i1, clamp latches 26 are released and the clamp 25 removed from the cylinder to permit tilting of the cylinder as shown in Figure 3. A

retaining band. 84 attached to the standards I l and i2 and embracing the cylinder is provided to maintain the cylinder in the desired tilted position. The tilting of the cylinder is made possible by the provision of the trunnions 22 and the bearings 23. When tilted the mouth of the cylinder ll is accessible for filling with the mastic material, after which the cylinder is returned to its operative position in alignment with its piston and the clamp 25, 26 is replaced.

As the road building machine on which the improved mastic joint installing machine is mounted moves over the plastic concrete of the road being built, the cutter 43 forms the groove 63 in the plastic concrete. Upon starting the motor 33, the screw 28 will be fed downwardly by the 1arge sprocket 3| and the piston 2'! will enter the cylinder l1 and force the mastic material downwardly through the tube 20 into the nozzle 57 as controlled by the valve 65.

A thin film of concrete can be allowed to remain on top of the joint material-about under the surface. The desirability of this is so that the tools will not come in contact with the mastic material as they would in case mastic material was placed flush with the surface. Of course, the mastic material can also be placed flush with the surface and in some cases this may be desirable.

An electric cable or lead 85 brings to the controller 68 electrical energy from a suitable source of supply, for instance, an electric generator on the finishing machine; and the controller 68 regulates th distribution of this energy to the motor 38 through a cable or lead 86 and to the solenoid (it through a cable or lead 81.

The controller 68 controls the timed actions of the piston 21 and rotary disc valve 65 whereby the valve 65 opens when the piston 21 is being driven downwardly.

When the solenoid 66 is energized the core rod It will be raised and the valve 65 moved to its open position thereby permitting the mastic material driven by the piston 21 to be extruded from the nozzle. As the nozzle is disposed in the groove 63 in the plastic concrete, the mastic material will be discharged into this groove. The smoothing plate 49 moves over concrete and adjacent to the joint after installation and because the front, rear and side edges of the smoothing plate are curved the likelihood that a line might show in the concrete is eliminated. When the supply of the mastic material in the cylinder I1 is exhausted, the screw 28 will be so positioned that the stop 40 on the screw will engage the trip 4! and further downward movement of the screw and piston will be stopped. At this time the motor 38 and solenoid 66 will be de-energized and the coil spring 80 which was extended by the movement of the lever H under the influence of the solenoid will retract and move the valve 65 to closed position to prevent escape of the mastic material from the cylinder.

The provision of the speed reducer and the large sprocket 3| for moving the screw and piston downwardly into the cylinder will provide the necessary pressure for forcing the tacky and heavy mastic material through the cylinder and extruding it through the nozzle into the groove to provide for the satisfactory application of the 6 mastic material to the joints. By means of the small sprocket 32 the screw may be raised and the piston withdrawn from the cylinder to permit reloading of the cylinder.

The speed of the piston 21 can be synchroized with the speed of the road building machine and the spray nozzle 51 by speeding or slowing one or the other. The movement of the machine can be slowed by means of the transmission or by the use of larger or smaller sprockets. The speed of travel of the spray nozzle 51 can be increased or decreased by the transmission or also by change of sprockets to suit conditions. This will have to be worked out on the job-depending on the width of the road and the thinness or heaviness of the application.

The flow of the mastic material is automatically stopped when the power of the road building machine is shut oi? because,.at that time, the solenoid (it will close the valve $5 and thereby stop the how of the mastic material. When the power of the machine is turned on again, the solenoid 66 opens the valve 65 and the mastic material is permitted to flow again to the nozzle 51.

The depth of the joint can be varied by the use of nozzles having difierent depths, or the nozzle can be moved up or down, or the cylinder supporting the nozzle can be moved up or down.

For the purpose of regulating and stopping the upward movement of the piston 22 after reaching a point above and outside of the cylinder ll, the following structure is provided:

A bracket 82 is mounted on the standard I2 by bolts or the like at. The bracket 38 rotatably supports pulleys 9t and 9|. A cable 92 is trained over the pulleys 9t and 9| and has attached to one end thereof a, counterweight 93 which is disposed in the path of the upward movement of the piston 2'! and the opposite end of the cable 92 is attached as at 94 to a lever 95. The lever 95 intermediate its ends is pivoted as at 95 to an arm 97 which is supported by the standard l2. One end of the lever 95 supports a counterweight 9t which weighs less than the counterweight 93. The opposite end of the lever 95 has a handle 99. The operating lever 69 of the electric valve control 68 is disposed in the path of movement of lever 95.

When the piston 21 in its upward movement has cleared the cylinder i l, as shown in Figure 1, the piston 21 will engage the counterweight 93 and raise it so that the counterweight 38 will swing the lever 95 downwardly to move the lever 69 to its open position. The electric current will thereby be shut off to the motor 38 and further upward movement of the piston 2? will be arrested. When it is desired to move the operating lever 69 to its closed position, the lever 95 may be swung out of engagement with lever 69 by means of the handle 99.

While I have disclosed herein the best form of the invention known to me at the present time, I desire it to be understood that I reserve the right to make changes and modifications in the herein described embodiment of the invention provided such changes fall within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A machine for installing mastic joints in plastic concrete comprising a supporting structure, a mastic container mounted on said structure, a nozzle communicating with said container and adapted to enter a previously formed groove in the plastic concrete, means for feeding the mastic material from the container through the 1 18 PM? the ve a alve f r eeiiire ie th discharge of'the mastic material from the nozzle. a spring for biasing said valve toa closed position, a valve opening device for overriding said spring, d mea s m n a nin fi q l e P. device energized continuously during the operation of said feeding means.

A m i f s a li stic tems i plastic concrete as claimed claim 1 in which said valve opening device comprises a solenoid having a movable'core, and further comprisin an arm connected to the valve and coupled'to said solenoid. 1'

A m ne r n a lin ma c ioi iis i plastic concrete as claimed. in claim 1 in which said valve opening device comprises a solenoid having a movable core, a lever pivoted on the machine and coupled to said core, and an arm on the valve coupled to said lever.

4 A machine for installing mastic joints in Di SKQQQWF? 1. 913131 i c im 1 in wh ch said valve opening device comprises a solenoid having a movable core, a lever pivoted on the maar id connected to said core, an arm on the v ve an a l n connec in s a a a lever.

JOSEPH WILLIAM HELTZEL.

References'Gited'in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

